Tales of Graces: Knight of Hundred Blades
by TrueRising
Summary: Varon is a young mage that practices the ways of Requip Magic, now follow along with him as he is transported to a world where he will meet new friends and face new challenges. But, his haunted past is chasing after him. Can he help out his new comrades while also fighting his inner demons? (No Flames)


"Speech"

'Thoughts'

* * *

Fiore, a faraway land, a small and peaceful nation of only seventeen million. A land filled with magic, it's found in almost every home as well as bought in market places. Magic is merely a tool used for everyday life, while others see it as an art and have devoted themselves to its practice.

Few of them have practiced and trained themselves in the used of magic at a very young age, some do so for entertainment while others push themselves past their limits, reaching new possibilities that even experienced mages didn't think possible.

It was currently the year 791, as we now focus ourselves onto a young youth that appeared to be around the age of seventeen or sixteen. He seemed to be laying down on the ground of a grassy hill as the wind brushed against his clothes and hair.

Upon closer inspection, you could see that he had snow-white hair along with his rather fair skin and lean body stature. His attire consisted of black tight jeans along with a tight white t-shirt that had a black hooded jacket over the top. He wore black leather shoes and had what appeared to be small metal kneepads and elbow pads.

"What a peaceful day..." The male muttered. He then opened his eyes to look upwards towards the sky, thus revealing his eyes to be a sapphire blue color. They seemed to give off a faint shine as he stared at the sky that was filled with clouds that stretched into the horizon.

This was none other than Varon Memoriae, a powerful Requip mage. He wasn't a member of any guild of sorts, that was because he preferred to go freelancing and take jobs every now and then, he doesn't mind teaming up with others, but prefers solo.

"But, I just wish something interesting would happen right now." Varon hoped. He gave a bored look as he sat up from his position while using both his arms as leverage, that was when he heard a strange swirling sound. "Huh? What's that noise?"

Upon looking for the source of the noise, his eyes finally made their way to an area behind him. He blinked when he saw that the source was what appeared to be a swirling rift of sorts, it was white and black in color and seemed to be swirling faster and faster every second.

"What the heck?" Varon blinked. Thanks to his curiosity, he decided to stand up before walking over and inspecting it. He walked around it and looked at it from multiple angles, he then stopped in front of it before holding his chin. "Where did this thing come from? And what is it exactly?"

He widened his eyes when he saw something strange, he then narrowed his eyes as he saw that there was a small golden glowing dot at the center. That was when he unconsciously began to reach his arm towards it as he attempted to take hold of whatever it is.

He shook his head as he managed to take hold of himself, but he was too late as he had just realized that his hand was already inside of the rift. He could only struggle as it began to pull him in, despite his attempts, he couldn't get away.

"What the?! What's happeni-!"

* * *

"Hey! Wake up, are you alright?"

Varon could only twitch his eyes as he could hear the distant voice of a young male. After a couple of seconds, Varon managed to open his eyes as he could feel his head pounding a bit giving him a headache. He slowly sat up as he rubbed his head.

"Oh, thank goodness. " Varon turned his attention to his right when he heard the voice once again, but far clearer than before. When he did, it revealed to be a young male kneeling next to him and was probably a year or two older than he was. "Are you alright? I found you unconscious on the ground a couple of seconds ago."

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the help." Varon thanked. Upon both of them standing up, Varon could now take in the males full appearance. He had dark brown-red hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a green, long-sleeved shirt, lined with blue accents and gold buttons.

Over it, he wears a long-sleeved white coat with gold buttons that keep each sleeve tied together. The coat has gray shoulder areas and is blue on the inside. Varon then saw that he had a sword that was sheathed in a black scabbard on the left side of his waist, the guy was probably a swordsman like him.

"That's good." The person smiled. The male then looked at Varon curiously as he then decided to introduce. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Asbel Lhant. What's your name? If you don't mind me asking."

"Of course not, It's Varon Memoriae." Varon greeted. He then extended his hand towards Asbel as Asbel accepted the gesture and shook hands with Varon. Asbel then asked. "So, do you mind telling me why you were laying on the ground unconscious?"

"To be honest, I can't really remember what happened too well. I just remember seeing a bright flash of light before I blanked." Varon explained. Asbel listened as he blinked at the words. "Though, I'm not sure how I got to this forest thought.

Much to Varon's words, the area around them was a rather dense looking forest with only a few open areas besides the path that they were on. "I see. So, I haven't seen any clothes like that before. Where are you from exactly?"

"Well, I'm actually a traveler so I don't really have a 'home' per say," Varon explained. Asbel nodded his head in understanding to the response he had been given. "But, if I have to say. I do spend most of my time hanging around Crocus."

"Crocus? I can't say that I've heard of that before." Asbel responded in confusion. Varon stared blankly at the youth as he then blinked before widening his eyes. "Wait, you're serious? But, Crocus is the capital city of Fiore... Everyone knows it..."

"Really? I can't say I have heard of Fiore either, sorry." Asbel responded. Varon could only then bring his hand to his chin in thought as Asbel watched patiently. 'He hasn't heard of any of them? Just where am I? Am I on a different continent? If so, then how?'

"You alright? We could ask someone else if they- Look out!" Asbel shouted. Varon heard the shout and quickly snapped out of his thoughts and rolled to the side to avoid four figures that flew passed the spot he was previously standing in. "You alright?!"

"Yeah! What was that?" Varon wondered. Asbel quickly ran next to Varon as they looked at what had pounced at them, it revealed to be four brown and white creatures with rather sharp claws and sharp eyes. "Are those wolves?"

"Yep. Four of them too, can you fight?" Asbel asked. Varon looked towards the slightly older male and grinned as he nodded, Asbel watched as Varon held his right arm to the side as he was shocked to see a sword form in Varon's hand. "What the?!"

In Varon's right hand was a sword that had a golden cross-guard as well as handle, the left end of the guard was far longer as it seemed to curved around Varon's wrist and up to his arm to just under his elbow. The blade was rather thin but shiny silver and looked very sharp.

"How did you just make that sword appear?" Asbel wondered. Varon looked at Asbel in confusion as he noticed the astonished look on his new friends face. "What do you mean? I just use my ma- Watch out!"

Asbel and Varon both quickly jumped back as one of the wolves had pounced at them, barely managing to avoid the strike. As they landed, Varon turned to Asbel. "I'll explain how I did later! Right now, we need to take care of these wolves!"

"Good idea! Let's do this!"

Asbel and Varon then took their stances before charging in towards their opponents, Asbel was taking on two of them while Varon was battling the other two. Asbel quickly charged towards one of them before delivering two kicks and turning around quickly before slashing at it with his sword causing it to recoil.

Varon was also charging in as he slid across the ground as once of the wolves leaped over him as he held his sword upwards, resulting in the bottom of the world being struck and cut dangerously. Varon then leapt from his downed position and kicked the other wolf while in the air.

Varon looked back to see that the first wolf had already been slain as he turned his attention back to the second wolf as Varon could see it was ready to attack, Varon could also see Asbel had already defeated one of the other two as he was now facing against the second.

"Demon Fang!" Varon heard Asbel roar. He looked to Asbel slash his sword upwards before doing it horizontally, that was when a shockwave of energy shot out and made impact with the wolf. 'Impressive, he certainly does have skills...'

Asbel looked towards the dust that his attack left behind as he panted slightly, he was relieved when he saw that the wolf was on the ground lifeless. He then turned towards Varon's direction and watched as the male reeled his arm back with the sword towards the last remaining wolf.

"What's he doing?" Asbel wondered. He could only watch as he waited for the wolf to pounce at him, Asbel then saw Varon give a small smirk before announcing. "The First Sword: Ten Blades!"

"Woah!" Asbel widened his eyes when Varon thrusted his sword forwards as a flash of light happened before Varon had appeared behind the wolf who was still in the air, it was silent before ten slashes appeared on the wolf's body as it fell on the ground lifeless.

"Perfect." Varon smiled. His sword then disappeared from his hand as he crossed his arms looking at the corpse of the wolf on the ground, Varon then heard footsteps as he turned to see that Asbel was walking towards him. "Wow, that was incredible, Varon. Are you a swordsman?"

"Yeah. I do fight with other types of weapons as well, but I mostly focus on swordplay. Also, I must say that your skills are impressive also." Varon stated. Asbel seemed to blush a bit at the compliment as he sheathed his sword. "Thanks, Varon. But, I still have a ways to go."

"Don't sell yourself short." They both blinked when a third far more masculine voice was heard, interrupting their conversation. They both turned to see a man far older than they were walking towards them. "I am quite impressed with both of you. Also, I see that my worries about your first field mission were for naught, they had been completely unfounded."

"Sir! It was all thanks to your superior instruction that I was able to succeed." Asbel stated. Varon blinked in confusion as he looked at the stance that Asbel gave towards the man, it was obvious that he respected the person. 'Perhaps Asbel is a soldier or something? That would explain his type of talking.'

Varon turned his head back towards the man as he could now see clearly what he looked like. He appeared to be a rather tall, well-built man with dirty-blond hair and piercing brown eyes. His attire consisted of a brown jacket with red emblems and gold ornaments; faded, green pants; and large, brown boots.

He also wore black, finger-less gloves and a pink shirt beneath his jacket, which itself yielded a purple interior, which Varon could evidently see from the collar and its trail in the back. The man then said. "There is no need to be formal. Just keep doing what you've been doing and we'll be fine."

"Sir!" The man then turned his head towards Varon who was just watching quietly at the conversation the two were having. Asbel then turned to Varon. "Varon, I'd like you to meet my instructor, Malik."

"May I ask what your name is, young man? My name is Malik Caesar, but just call me Malik." Malik had asked. Varon looked at him and nodded. "The name's Varon Memoriae. It's a pleasure to meet you, Malik." Varon then shook hands with the man after they had introduced themselves.

"Sir," Asbel called. Malik turned his attention to Asbel after hearing his name, Asbel then explained. "I found Varon unconscious here in the forest and he seems to not know where he is, he told me where he came from, but I've never heard of it before."

"Really?" Malik muttered. He then looked at Varon who had just crossed his arms. "So, where exactly do you come from, Varon?"

"The Kingdom of Fiore. Have you heard of it?" Varon wondered. Varon had hope in his eyes, but he felt like he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted. He was right when Malik shook his head. "I'm afraid not, I have never heard of it before."

"I see... Then how about Crocus? Magnolia? Alvarez? The Continent of Ishgar?" Varon pleaded. Malik held his hand to his chin in thought before sighing as he shook his head. "Nope, I have never heard of any of those places before. What about you, Asbel?"

"No, Sir. I'm afraid not..." Asbel answered. He rubbed the back of his head as they both then saw Varon looked down and his shoulders dropping, they pity the boy. He was stuck somewhere he had no knowledge of and seemed completely voided of any idea of what to do. "Sir, what should we do?"

"We can't just leave him. We'll take him with us, perhaps we can find someone who may know where his home is." Malik suggested. Asbel thought about it before nodding his head in agreement. "Varon, why don't you come with me and Asbel. We might end up finding someone who can find you a way home."

"I guess there isn't much else I can do, alright." Varon sighed. While his face still held sadness about his situation, feeling all sad about it right now wasn't going to help. "So, where exactly are we going to be going anyway?"

"Well, we're actually on a mission right now," Asbel explained. Varon turned to him in interest. Malik then continued. "That's right. Speaking of which, now is a perfect time to brief over the mission once again, for Asbel's sake and also yours so you know what's going on."

"That sounds good," Varon stated. Asbel was nodding his head as well. "Good. We're here to investigate Orlen, which is a village located on the far side of the forest we're currently in right now. Its population is around fifty or so, mostly being employed in forestry. A few days ago, the Royal Knight received word that the residents of Orlen had suddenly vanished without a trace."

"Vanished...?" Asbel slightly gasped. The surprise on his face was rather clear as his lips slightly parted in shock as his eyes had widened. Varon narrowed his eyes as he thought. 'Vanished? There has to be a reason for the disappearance, they can't just up and vanish like that...'

"Our mission is to meet the knights that are currently stationed and investigating the area and provide them with the assistance that they may require us for," Malik explained further. "While it's an unusual mission, we should keep up our guard and be prepared for anything."

"Understood, sir," Asbel replied. Varon just nodded his head slightly in understanding of what was happening now, the objective was pretty clear. Investigate a village and find out why the people disappeared. Asbel looked at Varon and asked. "By the way, Varon. I'm wondering how you summoned that sword before."

"I am curious as well, I have never seen anything like that being performed before," Malik added. Varon blinked at them for a second as he cocked an eyebrow, didn't they know? "It really isn't that surprising, I just used my magic."

"Magic?" Asbel and Malik blinked. Varon seemed confused as they stared at him silently, that was when Asbel added. "What do you mean by magic? I thought magic didn't exist at all, are you sure that you're using magic?"

"I am definitely sure about it, don't you guys have magic here?" Varon went bug-eyed as Asbel and Malik shook their heads at him in response. This place didn't have magic?! Where the heck was he?! "Where am I...?"

"While it may be hard for us to believe, I can see that you're telling the truth, you speak no lies," Malik muttered. Asbel looked at him as he then added. "So, if you used magic to summon the sword? Do you have other weapons?"

"Well, I use a type of magic that is called Requip," Varon stated. They both seemed confused before Varon further explained. "It's a magic that allows the user to store items into a pocket dimension that they can summon from at any time. The magic isn't limited to storing just weapons, it can store items, armors, and clothing too."

"Amazing, that sounds very useful," Malik muttered. Varon smiled as he nodded his head at this, Asbel also looked amazed as he heard this. Malik then asked. "By the way, Asbel. Do you know how to use an Eleth Mixer?"

"Yes, I do. Why, Sir?"

"Because I want to give you one, it will come in handy for future battles," Malik stated. Varon didn't know what it was, but didn't question it as he just waited for them. Malik then handed Asbel a bottle of sorts that looked sort of like a heart. "Since you know how to use it, we won't need to go over it."

"Thank you, Sir!"

* * *

It had been a couple of minutes since they had departed from the location in the forest that Asbel had found Varon unconscious, and they had fought against many different monsters that they encountered along the way as they went through.

Varon was pretty interested in all of them, Fiore did have their fair share of unique creatures, and this place certainly didn't fall behind in that aspect. They were all fairly easy to defeat and getting through wasn't exactly a problem, Varon didn't even need to use anything other than the sword he had used with Asbel and the wolves.

"Alright, it's just up ahead now." Malik voiced. Both of the boys turned their heads to where Malik was pointing and saw that there was indeed a village up the road. They then quickly made their way towards it and slowed down as they were close.

Varon looked at the village and frowned, it seemed to most definitely be deserted and the buildings were in horrible condition. They had cracks in them, the windows were shattered, parts had fallen off, and some of them had even collapsed.

"This is horrible..." Varon muttered.

"No kidding..." Asbel agreed. The young knight in training also seemed disturbed by how eery everything felt as he looked at the destroyed village that lacked any inhabitants. "Captain Malik! It's an honor to have you here, sir."

The younger boys both turned to hear a loud voice of respect, they saw that it was a male knight that donned the blue armor that was of this country. The knight that addressed Malik also appeared to be rather young in age. Standing beside the knight was also another one that had a mask on their face.

"Thank you. So, what have you learned?"

"Well, the early reports on the missing villagers appear to be very much true. We have found no trace of any of them here." The young knight answered. Asbel looked around as he added. "It looks like there was probably a fire..."

"Yeah, and the smell of ash isn't helping either..." Varon frowned.

"Indeed." Malik had agreed. He had looked around to see that the buildings were certainly charred, and some of the wooden foundations were smoking. "A very bad one, from seeing the state of things right now. Is there a connection between the villagers and the fire?"

"That's what we're looking into as of right now. It would be very appreciated if you could lend us a hand in the investigation." The young knight requested. Malik nodded at both of the younger males as they nodded back. "Are these two the new cadets? I thought there was only one, Captain Malik?"

"Only one of them are, the other is someone who is lending us a hand. They are Asbel Lhant and Varon Memoriae." Malik introduced. He had pointed to each of them respectively. "Today will be Asbel's first field mission."

"It's an honor to meet you." Asbel bowed. Varon didn't want to be rude as he also decided to give a small bow, the young knight, in turn, gave them a nod. Malik then said. "All right, let's get everything started. We'll need to split up and take a look around the village. If you find anything, make sure to let me know."

"Yes, sir." Asbel soluted. Varon had just nodded his head.

With that, they had all separated, including Varon. Asbel and Malik went their own ways as Varon was now seen walking towards one of the burnt down buildings, he narrowed his eyes at it before kneeling down and picking up one of the burnt planks.

"This wood is burnt quite thoroughly, the flames that burnt this place must have been crazy strong..." Varon muttered. Just by looking at the plank, he could tell that the flames were powerful. Barely gripping the plank, it made the plank completely shatter.

"Varon." Varon blinked when he heard his name. He turned his head behind him and looked up to see that it was Asbel who had called his name. "Did you find anything that could lead us to what could have been the cause of this village's destruction?"

"I'm afraid not, everything is completely charred. If there were any traces or clues such as footprints, then they have certainly been covered by now." Varon frowned. Asbel seemed to do the same. Asbel then added. "I could have sworn I heard a noise."

"A noise?"

"Yeah. Though it might have been my imagination." Asbel explained. Varon nodded his head in understanding, they then slightly flinched when the sound of rustling grass and forestry could be heard. "That was the sound!"

"Whatever it is, it might help us find the culprit. I say we follow the noise." Varon suggested. Asbel nodded his head in acceptance, they then quickly ran towards the source of the sound, they could hear it getting louder and louder by the second. "It should be right around the corner!"

"Right!"

As soon as they both ran towards the corner of one of the buildings, they skidded to a stop as they looked to see if anything was there. They widened their eyes when something ran past them. "Woah, what was that?!"

"Maybe a dog?" Asbel suggested. Whatever the creature was, it closely resembled that of a dog. The figure of it was certainly similar and the way it seemed to move around was the same. "It could also be a wolf, but I'm not sure."

"Only one way to find out." Asbel nodded as they quickly made pursuit after the creature. It took a good amount of time, but they managed to locate the sound again as they quickly ran towards what seemed to be an open backyard area that was quite open. "Isn't this where we heard the sound?"

"Should be, where is it?" Asbel wondered. They both looked around trying to find the creature, and that was when both of their eyes locked onto a four-legged creature lurking in the shadows of a tree. It walked out into the open revealing its rather crazy features.

The creature looked very much similar to that of a wolf, except it looked far more deadly. Its fur was incredibly spiked and the tail was far sharper than a regular wolf which had a normally fluffy tail. Its body was almost metallic looking.

"What is that?!" Asbel shouted. Varon could only stare at the beast in confusion, while it may appear as a wolf, the aura exerting from it was far more deadly. "I don't know, but now isn't the time to be wondering. Let's do this, Asbel!"

"Right!"

With that, both of them quickly took upon their stances as they charged at the wolf-like entity. Asbel swung his sword at it as Varon quickly summoned his sword and followed behind Asbel. Asbel hit the wolf over the back before slashing upwards.

Asbel then jumped out of the way as Varon delivered a horizontal and vertical slash towards it, the slashes impacted with the face but Varon was surprised when it didn't seem to have an effect. Asbel shouted his name when the creature tackled Varon causing him to fly away a couple of meters.

Luckily though, Varon managed to flip mid-air and landing on his feet while skidding slightly across the ground. Asbel quickly rushed in and attempted to slash at the beast multiple times, only for his attacks to fail as they didn't seem to hurt the creature. Asbel then managed to jump back and beside Varon to dodge a tackle from it.

"What is this thing? I can't seem to hurt it all." Asbel stated. Varon nodded his head at this, it was certainly strange. "Same here, my attacks don't seem to be having any effect on it either. We need to use more power if we want to take this guy down."

"Yeah... but, how?" Asbel wondered. They were both then surprised, along with the creature, when Asbel's hand began to emit a bright light. It then stopped as Asbel reacted quickly and slashed when the creature pounced at him. To their surprise, it actually injured the monster. "It worked?"

"That's great, Asbel! That means it can actually be damaged!" Varon smiled. Asbel blinked as he nodded, he smiled as well after knowing this. "But, we'll need more power if we want to take this guy down for good."

"I'm assuming that you have something with that Requip Magic of yours that could help us?" Asbel asked with hope. Varon grinned at the boy as he then closed his eyes and his body was covered in a bright light. "Requip!"

As soon as the light died down, Asbel was able to remove his arm from his eyes after being blinded by the light, though he was shocked when he saw Varon, the same could be said for the monster than was looking with wide-eyes at them.

Varon could be seen standing tall, but he was now donning an armor that completely covered his body. It consisted of a black bodysuit with red-brown metallic plates covering his chest, arms, legs, and along his spine.

On his head was a helmet that covered his entire head while the black bodysuit he was wearing covered his neck, the helmet was angular in shape as there were metallic plates that made up the jaw, making it look similar to that of a dragon along with piercing glowing orange eyes. There were also plates on the face except they didn't cover the eyes.

The top of the helmet was also shaped like that of a crown, a three spiked crown. Only the front of the helmet was actually plated with the red-brown plates while the back was what seemed to be composed entirely of a black metal that blended in well with the bodysuit on his neck.

There were also what appeared to be animated lines that ran along his arms, chest, and sides of his legs that were designed similar to that of running magma. Finally, in his right arm was a sword that looked to be made of molten rock with the blade being that of solidified magma that was still glowing its brilliant orange color.

"Woah... you weren't kidding when you said that your magic holds armor and weapons..." Asbel gawked. The young knight could only stare in awe at the armor that he was currently seeing, he couldn't help but marvel at its design. So strong looking. "That armor looks totally awesome!"

"Thanks. This is called my Flame Emperor Armor, it allows me to be resistant to fire and even swim in lava for a short time." Varon explained. Asbel was now totally in awe, now he could only wonder what other armors Varon had at his disposal. "But, now is the time for battle, let's do this!"

"Right behind you!" Asbel shouted. With that, they got into stance as they charged towards the wolf, Asbel ran up to it and kicked it across the head, making it temporarily stunned as he backed up and began slashing his sword in multiple directions. "Demon Fang!"

The shockwaves made contact with the wolf, making it cry in pain. It then glared towards their direction after managing to recover, only to then widen its eyes when Varon was in front of it with his sword igniting on fire.

"Take this!" Varon roared. He then swung his sword against the beast causing it to be covered in flames as it skidded across the ground, Asbel smiled at the display after seeing the power of the armor. "Alright! We're definitely getting somewhere!"

"Right! We should finish it soon!" Asbel shouted. Varon looked back towards Asbel and nodded his head before running quickly towards the beast and preparing for his strike as he held his stance. "Time for the finish! Ready, Asbel?!"

"More than ever! Let's go!" Asbel replied. Asbel then began charging as Varon then made his attack, Varon held his sword and pointed it forwards before calling it out. "The First Sword: Ten Blades!"

Varon then appeared behind the wolf as the slashed appeared and the body was sent upwards, Asbel then appeared next to it mid-air as he called his own attack while holding his left hand up. "Lightning Strike!"

Varon grinned when a rather powerful strike of lightning struck the body of the already injured beastly wolf, causing its cries of pain to echo through the area. Asbel landed as they both watched the body fall to the ground, the smiled when it showed no signs of life.

"Alright, we did it!" Asbel cheered. He smiled when he saw Varon hold a thumbs up towards him, they then noticed that the time had already become daytime, had they really been fighting for that long? Pushing away the thoughts, they walked towards the body and kneeled down next to it. "What is this thing?"

"Not sure," Varon replied. He then began to glow as his attire was now replaced with his usual clothes, his weapon also disappearing as well back into his storage. They then heard footsteps, they turned only to see Malik running over to them along with the knights.

Malik then kneeled down next to the creature after looking at it while standing up, he inspected its features and was rather confused. "Did both of you happen to slay this beast while I was investigating?"

"Yes, Sir. It had attacked us without any warning, so we had no choice but to defend ourselves." Asbel explained. Malik nodded his head in understanding as he looked at the corpse of the once active creature. The young knight then asked. "Captain, is it possible that this manner of creature is the one responsible for the disappearances?"

"I wouldn't rule that out as a possibility. I had found evidence saying of wild animal attack while I was exploring this village." He then pointed at the beast. "This creature might have been part of a larger group, but I'm not exactly certain of it."

"So, you mean that there might be an entire pack of these crazy powerful things?" Varon asked. Malik nodded at this, Asbel and Varona had visibly paled at the thought. One of these crazy wolves was enough for them.

"You certainly have our gratitude, Captain. I think that we'll be able to take care of the rest from here on." The young knight stated. Malik nodded as he turned to the younger males. "Understood. Asbel? Varon? We're done here."

"We thank you for your assistance, Asbel Lhant. Varon Memoriae." The young knight thanked. The other knight beside him also nodded his head in thanks. "Your efforts may have unlocked a core of this little mystery of ours. I certainly look forward to having you, Asbel, in our ranks. I certainly wouldn't mind Varon as well."

"I certainly do agree with Varon being able to become a great knight, but that will be up to him. Now, Asbel isn't a knight yet. But I'm sure he will be soon." Malik had stated. The young knight turned and soluted. "Forgive me, Sir!"

"There's no need for that," Malik assured. The young knight then turned his attention and directed it towards Asbel. "You quickly lucky, young man. To be trained by the captain himself is an honor. Don't waste the opportunity you've been given."

"Thank you, Sir. I thank you for the advice." Asbel thanked. They then looked at Malik who then voiced his words. "Now this signals the end of your first field mission, Asbel, with the help of Varon of course. Let's be on our way back to the capital, you can come with us, Varon."

"Understood," Varon replied.

* * *

The three of them were now journeying back through the forest, apparently, they were now heading towards the capital of whatever land Varon had found himself in. Asbel was the one leading the group, as per the orders of Malik.

"Asbel, I am glad to have this opportunity to see your true prowess, but I must admit though, I was certainly... surprised at what I had witnessed." Malik voiced. This caused the two younger men to look at Malik.

"S-Surprised? What do you mean, Sir?" Asbel asked. His voice clearly showing some worry as did his expression, it wasn't hard to tell. Varon could see that Asbel seemed to still be rather doubting about him being ready to become a knight, but while he may not know much about it, he was sure Asbel had the strength necessary.

"That monsters was prepared to destroy both you, and Varon. But, then Varon changed into that suit of armor and you had suddenly... Well, I'm not quite sure what you had done." Malik stated. It seemed as though the captain had witnessed their fight. "Why is it that you've kept such an ability hidden?"

"To be honest, it was really nothing that I've tried to hide, Captain. I'm honestly not quite sure as to how I managed to help Varon beat the thing." Asbel admitted. Malik seemed confused about this, so did Varon. It appeared that Asbel had no prior knowledge of what he had done previously during their battle.

"While that may be the case, you could be ready for some real action now, the same could be said for Varon. You both show incredible talent." Malik complimented. He seemed to give a small at the thought. "I might even have to ask for a spar from the both of you one of these days."

'D-Did the captain really just praise me?' Asbel thought in surprise. Varon noticed the look on Asbel's face before giving a small smile, he gave Asbel a thumbs up, to which the slightly older boy just gave a smile in response.

* * *

It had been a good amount of time since they had left Orlen Village, and the journey was getting pretty long. They did have to take a rest near an old building along the road, but didn't stop for long. Asbel and Malik during the time seemed to want to discuss something, so Varon decided to stay where he was and waited for them.

Now, the group had finally managed to arrive at their destination, the capital of the country of Windor. They were quickly approaching the front gates which leads into the capital. "So, what exactly is the capital called?"

"Oh, right, you don't come from Windor, or any of the parts, do you?" Asbel realized. Varon nodded his head as Malik was the one that answered the question. "The capital of Windor is Barona, which is the city you see in front of us."

"I see. So, where was it that we're going to be going to now?" Varon wondered. They were now entering the city as they were now walking down the streets, the place seemed to be similar to the cities found in Fiore. Asbel then answered. "We're going to Tactics."

"That's right. Tactics is a bar located in Barona, and my personal favourite pub." Malik grinned. Varon didn't really know if he should be thrilled or not, he wasn't exactly at the legal age. "It's time to go and celebrate Asbel's promotion!"

"Captain, you're kind of embarrassing me..." Asbel muttered.

* * *

Varon, along with Asbel and Malik, finished their little celebration for Asbel being promoted to becoming a full-fledged knight as they were now back on the streets after having a drink and a small meal at the bar, Tactics.

They were no heading towards what the two more knowledgeable males called the Knight Academy, it certainly caught Varon's interest. "So, this Knight Academy. Just how much further is it now?"

"Should be just a bit further up ahead, probably a max of two minutes or so," Asbel answered. Varon nodded his understanding at the response before seemingly giving a hiccup while covering his mouth. "You alright, Varon?"

"Y-Yeah. Just can't deal very well with beer or alcohol..."

"Oh, come on. It was only a little bit." Malik smiled. Varon turned his head behind him and looked upwards to face Malik's face, Varon holding a deadpanned expression all the while. "Oh, really? Because from my recollection, you forced an entire bottle full of beer down my throat!"

"But, you kept resisting..."

"For good reason!"

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

"No! I don't want any!"

"Don't be shy now! Just a drink!"

"I don't want to drink!"

Varon and Malik were currently seen arguing as Malik was holding what seemed to be an entire bottle full of beer, Asbel was just on the sidelines watching with a massive sweatdrop behind his head when Malik shoved the bottle into Varon's mouth.

* * *

**Flashback End**

* * *

"Okay, maybe it was a little overboard..."

"..." Varon could only facepalm as hard as he could as Asbel was watching them while chuckling nervously as he observed, they were so focused on arguing that they didn't even realize that they had arrived at their destination. "Oh, wow. I guess we made it."

"Huh?" Asbel blinked as both him and the captain looked forwards to see that they were indeed approaching the front of the Knight Academy. "I didn't even realize we had made it! Were we really that focused on the little incident?"

"I guess so..." Malik sweatdropped. They just looked at each other before shrugging and began to head towards the front door of the establishment, only for Varon to notice that Asbel seemed to stop walking as he got distracted by something.

"Asbel?" Varon voiced. Malik seemed to hear Varon call out the young knight's name as he also came to a stop and turned to see Asbel was indeed focused on something, or someone. Following his view, they turned to see that his attention was grabbed by a female that was standing near the front.

Upon closer inspection, the girl seemed to be around, if not, the same age as Asbel was. The girl had short bright red hair and brown eyes, her outfit consisting of black ribbons being in her hair, a white shirt with long sleeves and dark red designs, a lilac miniskirt, a blue brooch on her chest, black stockings and white boots.

They all just watched silently as they noticed that the girl seemed to gasp softly as she took a couple of small steps towards them, mainly towards Asbel. "It couldn't be... Is that... is that really you, Asbel?" The girl had muttered.

"No, wait... Is it really? Cheria? Cheria, it's you!" Asbel responded with shock. Varon didn't know why they were acting this way, the same could be said for Malik, but it was quite apparent that they did know each other. Anybody could figure that out.

"Yes..." Cheria had muttered. They blinked in confusion when she seemed to look away with a saddened look in her eyes. Asbel stepped up and continued. "I can't believe that it's really you! I haven't seen you in over seven years! What are you doing here? When did you even arrive?"

"A little while ago..." Cheria replied in a tone that just made Varon even more confused.

"Then you should've told me! I could have picked you up!" Asbel stated. It was silent for a bit as Cheria seemed to slowly look back up towards Asbel, she was holding an expression that seemed to be slightly annoyed and confused. "Didn't you get it?"

"Get what?" Asbel asked confused.

"The letter!" Cheria exclaimed. Cheria just watched Asbel with an incredulous look on her face upon seeing his confused look. "Your mother sent you a letter that begged you to come home. You should have received it!"

"Oh..." Asbel muttered. Varon now realized why she was acting the way she was, but there had to be more to it, right? Varon shared a look with Malik who seemed to share the same thought. "I was on a mission, so I haven't been here for a while. Wait a minute, did something happen?"

It was silent for a good while before as they stared at Cheria who looked down towards the ground, this made the three of them concerned as Asbel looked at Varon before looking back. Cheria then looked back up slightly as she stated.

"L-Lord Aston... Lord Aston passed away..."

"Wh-What? Y-You mean to tell me that my father is gone...!" Asbel muttered in disbelief. Malik and Varon saw the expression of disbelief plastered on the young knight's face, they could only look at him with pity. Asbel then stepped in front of Cheria and grabbed her arms. "What are you talking about?! What happened!"

"Calm down, Asbel!"

Malik's voice called out loudly. With the assistance of Varon, Malik and him managed to pry Asbel off of Cheria as they tried to calm the distraught male down. Malik then looked at Cheria. "Your name is Cheria, right? Let's talk about this inside. Follow me, all of you."

With that, Malik began walking inside the building with Cheria soon following after, Varon was still as well as Asbel as he looked at the young knight with pity. He then put a hand on his shoulder as he tried to comfort him.

"Come on, Asbel. Let's go inside..."

* * *

On their way inside, Cheria, Malik, and Varon had introduced themselves to each other as they had been walking inside the halls of the academy. And after a couple of minutes, they made their way into a room where they could have their conversation.

As the group were now standing still, Varon was standing on Asbel's right with Cheria being on the boy's left. Malik was standing in front of all of them as Asbel was now holding a small letter in his hands as he was reading off of it.

"The border dispute between Lhant and Fendel has turned desperate. Your father is having difficulty coping with the situation. Please come home before the fighting takes an even more serious turn..." Asbel read. Asbel took a second to take it in as he then looked up. "I had no idea things were so bad..."

"We had waited to hear from you..." Cheria voiced. They all turned to look at the young girl as she continued. "But that was when Lord Aston had perished soon in the battle... With Lady Kerri bedridden from both exhaustion and grief, it fell onto me to track you down."

Cheria then turned her head from the ground up at Malik as she then asked. "Captain Malik, I had been entrusted with a message that I'm supposed to deliver to the knights. Will you hear it from me?"

"Go ahead." Malik nodded. Cheria nodded before saying the message. "Lhant humbly requests the assistance of his majesty's royal knights in her struggle against the tyranny." Malik listened before responding himself after a bit.

"The domains of Windor hold great autonomy compared to other nations. They're independent states in all but name." Malik replied. "This will make it difficult for the knights to intervene in such disputes. Even if I see the right of your cause, things may be rather difficult."

"I see... My grandfather had said much the same thing as you." Cheria stated. She sighed as she looked back towards the ground. "It would seem that we can only pray and hope that the dispute doesn't escalate further and much into an all-out war."

"Malik," Varon called out. The captain turned his head towards Varon who had his arms crossed with a neutral look on his face. "I feel like you should still try, even if the results aren't guaranteed. Something like this escalating into all-out warfare isn't desirable."

"Agreed. I will speak with the others knights, and just like Varon just said, there won't be any guarantees." Malik stated. "This is a matter of the most grave, and perhaps the knights will feel differently upon hearing the full story."

"We are truly in your debt, captain." Cheria bowed slightly. Malik then turned towards the young knight who was still looking a bit grave about his loss of his father and the situation Lhant was in. "Asbel."

"Sir?"

"I trust you to be the knight's eyes and ears in this current matter. I want you to return to your home and assess the situation, understanding what's really happening is vital." Malik stated. He then turned to look at Varon. "I also ask of you to accompany him, Varon."

"Of course." Varon nodded.

"Also, you should pay your respects to your father, and also look in on Lady Kerri," Malik added. Malik seemed very serious about this. "She, right now, needs you more than ever before. Go to her and give her what comfort you are able to."

"Understood."

"I must return to Lhant aswell." Cheria interrupted. Malik turned his head towards the young girl upon hearing this as he then added. "Very well. Then you can travel together along with Asbel and Varon to Lhant. Also, send word to me if you need assistance. I'll let you know if I learn of anything on my side as well."

They all nodded at him before making their way out of the academy. And this now signals the start of their journey back to Lhant.


End file.
